Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty ImagesA young girl prays after releasing a paper lantern onto the Motoyasu River to commemorate the atomic bomb victims beside the A-Bomb Dome today in Hiroshima, Japan, on the day of the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

HIROSHIMA, Japan — The city of Hiroshima marked the 65th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing today, with the U.S. ambassador and the head of the United Nations appearing at the annual ceremony in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon were among about 55,000 attendants at the Peace Memorial Ceremony. Also present were representatives from nuclear weapon states Britain and France.

Roos said in a short statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, "For the sake of future generations, we must continue to work together to realize a world without nuclear weapons."

Envoys from a record 74 foreign countries attended the ceremony, 15 more than last year. Russia and Pakistan were the other nuclear nations represented at the event.

It was also the first time that representatives from the nuclear nations of Britain and France attended the annual ceremony, which is held to commemorate those who died as a result of the atomic bombing and to pray for peace.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada also were present.

Standing in front of the Flame of Peace at the park, which will not be extinguished until nuclear weapons cease to exist, Ban called for nuclear weapons to be eradicated from the world while atomic bomb survivors are still alive. "Together, let us put out the last fire of Hiroshima. Let us replace that flame with the light of hope," he said.

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A native of South Korea, Ban was a child during the Korean War. At the ceremony, he described fleeing from his village.

Ban said in Japanese that he came to Hiroshima for world peace. "Our moment (to join hands) has come," he said.

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said in his Hiroshima Peace Declaration: "Clearly, the urgency of abolishing nuclear weapons is permeating our global conscience; the voice of the vast majority is becoming the preeminent force for change in the international community."

"We will work closely with like-minded nations, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), and the U.N. itself to generate an ever-larger tidal wave of demand for a world free of nuclear weapons by 2020," he said.

"No one else should ever have to suffer such horror," Akiba said on behalf of hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) in the Hiroshima dialect. He also urged the Japanese government to legislate the three nonnuclear principles and leave the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Kan said in his speech, "I firmly believe that Japan, as the only country to have experienced nuclear devastation in war, has a moral responsibility to lead in actions toward realizing 'a world without nuclear weapons.' ... I pledge that Japan will observe its Constitution and firmly maintain the three nonnuclear principles for the sake of the elimination of nuclear weapons and the realization of eternal world peace."